‘The worst is yet to come’: Spanish PM tells nation to prepare for ‘hard days ahead’

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‘The worst is yet to come’: Spanish PM tells nation to prepare for ‘hard days ahead’ as Madrid exhibition centre is transformed into giant hospital – while coronavirus death toll hits 1,725 with 28,572 cases

  • Spain’s Prime Minister says the country will be pushed to its limits by Covid crisis
  • Pedro Sanchez says Spain will experience a major peak in the coming week
  • More than 25,000 positive cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in Spain
  • The capital Madrid is reporting by far the most cases with 9,702 and 1,021 dead 
  • Coronavirus symptoms: what are they and should you see a doctor?

By Henry Martin For Mailonline

Published: | Updated:

Madrid is preparing for a new wave of coronavirus infections as the country’s Prime Minister warns the next phase of the crisis will push the country’s facilities to the limit.

Pedro Sanchez says Spain will experience a major peak in the coming week and has asked residents to be prepared ‘for very hard days ahead’.

‘The worst is yet to come,’ he said. ‘We are at a very critical moment .’  

Health workers are now receiving the first patients with coronavirus at Ifema exhibition complex in Madrid.

The country’s capital has reported by far the largest number of cases, 9,702, and at least 1,021 dead. 

Health workers prepare to receive the first patients with coronavirus at Ifema exhibition complex in Madrid, Spain

The Community of Madrid and the UME (Spanish Emergency Army Unit) are installing a specific hospital for COVID-19 with 5,500 beds and an UCI (Intensive Care Unit)

The Community of Madrid and the UME (Spanish Emergency Army Unit) are installing a specific hospital for COVID-19 with 5,500 beds and an UCI (Intensive Care Unit)

The first patients with coronavirus arrive at Ifema exhibition complex on March 22 in Madrid

The first patients with coronavirus arrive at Ifema exhibition complex on March 22 in Madrid

The Community of Madrid and the Spanish Emergency Army Unit are installing a specific hospital for COVID-19 with 5,500 beds and an intensive care unit. 

More than 25,000 positive cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in Spain and at least 1,326 deaths.

This morning, the Prime Minister confirmed that the State of Emergency imposed on March 14 will be extended for another 15 days. 

The number of people confirmed to be infected with the coronavirus (COVID-19) in Spain has increased to at least 25,400, with the latest death toll reaching 1,381 according to the countrys Health Ministry

The number of people confirmed to be infected with the coronavirus (COVID-19) in Spain has increased to at least 25,400, with the latest death toll reaching 1,381 according to the countrys Health Ministry

This morning, the Prime Minister confirmed that the State of Emergency imposed on March 14 will be extended for another 15 days

This morning, the Prime Minister confirmed that the State of Emergency imposed on March 14 will be extended for another 15 days

Paramedics work at the temporary hospital set up at a pavilion in Ifema convention and exhibition center in Madrid, Spain, late March 21

Paramedics work at the temporary hospital set up at a pavilion in Ifema convention and exhibition center in Madrid, Spain, late March 21

Lockdowns are not enough to defeat coronavirus, WHO experts says

Countries cannot simply lock down their societies to defeat coronavirus, the World Health Organization’s top emergency expert said today.

Mike Ryan, chief executive director of the WHO Health Emergencies Programme, said even if countries stop citizens mingling, there still needs to be public health measures to avoid a resurgence of the virus later on.

He said in an interview on the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show: ‘What we really need to focus on is finding those who are sick, those who have the virus, and isolate them, find their contacts and isolate them.

‘The danger right now with the lockdowns…if we don’t put in place the strong public health measures now, when those movement restrictions and lockdowns are lifted, the danger is the disease will jump back up.’

In a speech last night, Mr Sanchez said Spain is one of the countries most affected in Europe by the pandemic, stressing that the virus has several different characteristics from those of the common flu and that it spreads much faster and is more lethal.

Hotels across Spain are being offered as hospitals and in Madrid, the region worst-hit by the coronavirus, Madrid’s famous conference and exhibition centre has started to receive its first patients. 

The halls have been converted in just 18 hours, compared with 18 days for a major event, and will offer 5,500 beds, as well as an intensive care unit.

‘The main objective of this new health provision will be to provide an adequate response to the needs for hospitalisation and ICU care that will occur, due to the rebound of new cases that are being anticipated for the region in the coming days,’ said Madrid council in a statement.

The Ayre Gran Hotel Colon in Madrid has been the first to start receiving patients who have symptoms but whose condition requires medical follow-up without the need to be admitted to a hospital, both at the beginning of the disease and in the final phase.

The chains with a presence in Madrid have made 60,000 spaces available to the health authorities.